Camera



Feb-

H. T, BRADY ET AL CAMERA Filed May 18, 1925 2 SheetE-Sheet 1 gwoentpm mm2 ya 5% E 91 1927' l T. BRADY ET 4 CAMERA Filed May 18, 1925 2Sheets-Sheet 2 W E. Van N835 15. YT/Brady D Adfienmy Patented m. 1,1921.

mien 'rfnnamr AND nnvn) A. IBENWAY, or'feax .crrY, AND

WILLIAM E. VAN HESS,

Q1 DETROIT, MICHIGAN CAMERA.

Application filed May 18, 1925. Serial at. 31,050.

This invention relates-to cameras and has for itsobject the. provisionof a camera which may be conveniently held and operated'by one'hand andin which the feeding of the the exposure. The invention seeks .toprovide a camera of the statedtype 1n wh1ch the films may be easilyinserted or removed and in which the manipulation of a single elementwill efl'ect exposure and subsequently feed the film through a'distancesufiicient to bring into exposing position another sec+ tion, of thefilm. The invention also seeks to provide ajcamera in which the'workingl5 partswill be compactly arranged and all housed within the casing so tat damage thereto will be avoided. All these objects, and other objectswhich will incidentally appear in the scri tion, are attained in such acamera as is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and the inventionresides in certain novel features which will be particularly pointedoutfin the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1' is a central longitudinal section of oneembodiment of our invention; Fig. 2 ;is a detail horizontal section onthe line 2-2 of Fig. 1; 8 -Fig. 3 is a similar section on the line 33ofFig.1;

Fig. 4 is a detail section on the line 4-4 -l;

' Fi 5 is a similar view on the line 5-5 36 of Fig. 1

; Fig. 6 1s atransverse section on the line 6-'6 of Fig, 1, and

Fig. 7 is a transverse section onthe line 7+7 of Fig. 5. In carrying outour invention, we employ a casing comprising a main tubular portion 1,to the underside of which is secured a supplemental casing or box'2-extending along therear endportion of the 46 main casing and to the rearend of this box 2 is secured a depending handle mem-' her or casing 3.The casing 3, as shown clearly in Fig. 1, inclines rearwardly from thebox 2 so that the entire housing of the B0 device has ageneral-.Iesemblance to a pistol and may be ver easily and conveniently'held in one han In the top of the'main casing 1 is an opening 4 whichextends through the, greater portion of the length so of'the casing andprovides for the entrance film will automatically followcourse of thefollowing de-,

V1ded at a pro er point in its ed e with a arm instantly and the springand withdrawal of the carrier or. holder 5 n which the film is: mounted.A/cover 6 is. pivotally mounted at its front' end, as lndicated at 7,upon the main casing 1 in advance of the opening 4 and extends overtheentire opening and is equipped at its rear end with a depending tongue 8adapted to engage over a stud 9 on the rear end .of the casing wherebyit will be retained in closed position. In the front'end of the c'asnig1 is a plug 10 constituting a screen for the lens and having a centralopening 11 to admit light to the lens. Carried by the rear side of thisscreen plug 10 is a sh eld 12 having a small central opening 13 andpivotally mounted u on the said shield 18 the shutter 14', the 'plvot 15being dis-' posed belowthe opening 13, as shown most clearly in Fig. 6,and the shutter being pro-,

notch 16 whic is adapted to a ine with the opening 13 when the shutteris manipulated to make an exposure. The shutter is held normally in itsclosed position, presentmg an imperforate portion to the eyeor opening13, by a spring 1'; {operating in a well-known manner. Y

At' the lower end of the shutter is a projec tion 18 extending below thelower edge of the shield 12 and provided with a tooth 1.9spaced'normally from the lower edge of the shield whereby, whenthe'rocking arm 20 is manipulated, the shutter will be operated.

The arm 20, as shown in Fig. 6. is so disposed as to opdrate immediatelybelow the shield 12 and impinge against the tooth 19 to swlng theshutter in opposition to the spring 17 and bring the notch 16 into aline"ment with the sight opening'13, the tooth preventing the arm swingingbeyond the shut- 0: ter without coming into engagement therewith. Thearm 20 swings from side to side of the casing '1 but the tooth 19 clearsthe u on an exposure being made 1? immediately closes the sh utter. Uponreturn movement pfthe arm, its free end rides under the projection 18 inan obvious manner. In rear of the shutterhthe lens. 21 is mounted withinthe casing in axial alinement with the sight openingv 13, as shown inFig. 1. The shield 12 and the screen 10 are, of course, so connected andfitted'in the casingthat the leakage of light around the edges of eitherelement will be prevented and the shutter 14, of. course,

closely to the shield 12 so as to exclude light except through theopening 13. The lens 21 may be mounted within the casing in any approvedmanner andIis illustrated as being carried by a disk 22 to the rear sideof which is secured a plate or bracket 23' provided below the disk 22with a horizontal slot 24 to accommodate the arm 20, as shown inFigs. 1and 3. The rocking arm 20 is fixed to the-upper end of a pivot pin orviivet-25 which passes, vertically through the bottom plate of the casing1 in rear of the front end .wall of the box 2, and to the lower nd ofthis pivot is,secured an actuating cam lever 26 which extends rearwardlywithin the box 2 immediately; below the bottom plate of the casing 1 andis yieldably held in its normal position by a spring 27 attached at oneend to the bottom of the casing and at its opposite end to the camlever. This arrangement is shown most clearly in Fig. 4.

The cam lever 26 is spaced slightly from the bottom plate of the casing1 so that it may move freely ,and for the same reason the rocking arm 20is offset, as at 28, so that the greater portion of its length will bespaced above the bottom plate of the casing, this formation alsoimparting some resiliency to the free end of the arm so that it mayreadily ride under the shutter when returning to The lever 26 isconstructed with an obliquely disposed slot 29, the Walls of whichconstitute cam surfaces whereby rocking movement may be imparted to thelever when the sliding pin 30 is moved longitudinally of the device.This pin 30 is secured to and rises from a plate 31 which is secured tothe upper end of the trigger 32,

.the said plate 31 resting slidably upon the bottom of the box 2 andfitting against the sides thereof whereby it will be held toarectilinear path.

It will now be understood that, if the trigger-'32, which dependsthrough and-below the bottom of the box 2, is ressed rear- Wardly, theplate or slide 31 wi 1 follow the movement and the pin 30, consequently,will be drawn rearwardly against the rear wall oft the obliquelydisposed cam slot 29 so that the lever 26 will be rocked about the pivot25 in opposition to the spring 27 and consequently the rocking arm 20will be caused to swing transversely of the casing 1 and br ng its freeend into engagement with-the shutter to rock the shutter and make anexposure. Upon release of the trigger, it is returned to it'sforwardinitial position and the spring 27 then acts to return the cam lever 26and the rocking arm 20 to their initial positions.

The bottom of the box 2 is constructed with a. longitudinal slot 33whereby the movement of the trigger is permitted and isheld to arectilinear path. Immediately above the plate 31, a slotted plate 34 issecured in the box 2, the said plate having a short longitudinal centralslot 35 adjacent its front endsto accommodate the pin --30 and upon theupper'side of the rack plate 34 so that the parts will be properlyguidedin operation and lateral movement of the pin and the'slide will beprevented. At its rear end, the rackplate 34 is equipped with a centraldepending lip 40 extendin through a slot 41 in the rear end 'ortion ofthe bottom of the box 2 so that the rack plate will be held to itsproper position in the box. The I pinion 38 is loose upon-a shaft 42which is journaled in the bottom of the 'box 2 between the slots33 and41, and fixed upon the upper side of the pinion is a disk 43 carrying apawl 44 which is spring pressed into engagement with a ratchet 45secured upon the a shaft 42 whereby upon movement of the rack plate 34in one direction the shaft will be rotated and upon reverse movement ofthe rack plate the shaft will remain at rest. The shaft projectsupwardly through the bottom of the main casing 1 and is equipped with acrosshead 46 of the usual type to engage a socket provided therefor inthe film spool 47 When the trigger is pressed rearwardly,

as previously mentioned, the pin 30 moves rearwardly in the slot 35 sothat the rack plate 34 remains at rest during the period of theexposure. However, the continued travei of the trigger and the pin willbring the pin mto engagement with therear end of the slot 35, whereuponthe rack plate 34 will be actuated and the pinion 38 rotated, the

pawl 44 then engaging the ratchet 45 so as to rotate the shaft 46 andwind film upon the spool 47. Upon release of the pressure upon thetrigger, it is automatically returned to its forward initial position,the pawl 44 then riding 'over the ratchet 45 without actuating thewinding shaft 42.

Secured to the trigger 32 immediately below the box 2 is a tubularsupporting arm 48, the free end of which plays through an opening in thefront wall of the handle member 3 of the casing. A guide in 49 issecured to the rear end of the ban 1e member 3 and projects forwardlythrough the front wall thereof in axial alinement with the supportingtubular arm 48 and enters the rear end of the said arm, as indicated bythe dotted lines in Fig. 1, "whereby to supshock which may port andguide the arm; A buffer spring .50 is mounted upon the pin 49 betweenthe Bin 49 to provide bearing surfaces engaged y the upper ends ofreturn levers 52 which are ivoted at their lower ends withinthe han lemember 3- 0f the casing and have their upper ends disposed in .contactwit the said abutment, as shown in Fig; 1. Contractile springs 53' aredisposed at opposite sides of the return levers 52 and have-their upperends: secured to the casing adjacent the junction of the front wall ofthe handle sect1on 3 with the bottomof the box 2 and their'rear endsattached to lugs or offsets 54 projecting upwardly and rearwardly fromthe upper edges of the return levers 52. When the trigger is pressed'rearwardly, the return levers 52 will, of course, be-swung toward therear wall of the handle section 3 and the springs 53 will be extended sothat, when the pressure upon the. trigger is re leased, the springs willat once contract and return the parts to their initial positions.

It may be noted that in the normal position of the parts the abutment 51lies underthe tongue 40 and the said tongue-is constructed with lateralextensions or wings 55 at its lower end which engage under thebottom ofthe box 2 and thereby aid in holding the rack plate and the platescooperating therewith in proper relation to'the bottom of the box.

The film, indicated at 56, is carried by spools 47 and 57 as is usualand is wound from the spool 57 onto the spool 47, the exposed portion ofthe film being arranged to travel around idler rollers- 58 immediatelyin rear of an opening 59 in the front end wall of the carrier 5. Thecarrier 5, as will be understood upon reference to Figs. 1 and 2,

is a three sided structure having its rear end open andnis preferablyconstructed of sheet metal. The spools are inserted into the carrierthrough the open side thereof and are held in the'proper position in thecarrier by studs 60 carried by a keeper or and engageable throughopenings provided therefor in the top side of the carrier, as will beunderstood upon reference to Fig. 1. It will also be, understood uponreference to Fig. 1 that, whenthe carrler with the spools therein isinserted through. the top of the casing, the lower ends of the spoolswill engage the crosshead 46 and also engage a stud 62 in the usualmanner. A leaf spring 63 is secured to the inner surface of the topofthe carrier 5 to press upon the spools and hold them in properengagement with the (CIOSSllEfid 46 and the stud 62, as will heunderstood. To prevent loosening or unwinding of the ex -posed filmwhich is wound upon the rear spool 47, we provide'a brake shoe 64 whichmay be of any suitable form and is carried by the upper end of a lever65 fulcrumed within the casing 1 adjacent the rear end thereof andequipped with a. counterbalance arm 66 extendingthrough the rear end ofthe box 2. This counterbalance arm 66 plays through a slot 67 in thebottom of the casing 1 and through the slot 41 in the bottom of the box2 so that lateral movement of the lever will be prevented and the shoewill always be maintained in proper position to engage the film withoutinjuring the same.

The entire outer casing may conveniently be made of sheet metal so thatit will-be light and,may' be easily produced in a stamping machine. Theseveral parts of the casing will be connected by boltsso that the properrigidityv and durability will be attained and it will be easily seenthat we have provided a very compact camera in which a single elementwill effect the operation of all the working parts. While'the operationof the shutter and the feeding of the film are timed to occur insequence, the

feeding of thefilm follows so closely upon the closing of the shutterthat the entire operation is practically instantaneous. The exposure ismade so that there is no liability of over-exposure and the feeding ofthe film is accomplished so quickly and accurately that a secondexposure may bemade immediately after a first exposure, the rapidity ofoperation depending solely upon the abllity of the operator tomanipulate the trigger. Having thus described the invention, we

- claim 1.;A camera comprising a casing, a lens mounted inthe front endof the casing, a shutter in advance of the lens within the casing, meansin rear of the lens for supporting a film, a rocking armmountedpivotally in the casing below the film-supporting means andhaving its front end free and arranged to engage and actuatethe shutter,a cam-member connected with said rocking arm, a trigger slidably mountedon the casing, an ele-' ment carried by the trigger to actuate said camelement, and means actuated by the trigger for feeding the film.

2. A. camera comprising a casing, mounted in the frontend of the casing,a shutter within the casing in advance of the lens, means for supportinga film in rear of the lens, a rocking arm arranged to engage and operatethe shutter, a cam lever connected with said'arm and having a cam slotformed therein, a trigger slidably mounted in' the casing, a pincarriedrby the trigger and playing in the cam slot, and means foroperatingjhe film-supporting means having a lens mounted in the frontend of the casing, L shutter mounted in the casing in advance of thelens, means for supporting a film in rear of the lens, a triggerslidably mounted upon the casing, means including a pin carried by thetrigger for actuating the shutter. a rack .plateslidably mounted in thecasing and having a longitudinal slot through which the pin carried bythe tri ger'plays, a pinion meshing with said rac plate, and connectionsbetween said pinion and the film-supporting means whereby of thefilm-holding means, a shutter in ad-' Vance of the'lens, a triggerslidably mounted \below the casing, operative connections between thetrigger and the shutter and be-v tween the trigger and the film-holdingmeans, a guide pin carried by the casing below the said operativeconnections, a tubu-- lar arm extending from the trigger and enmountedin the casing near the front. end

thereof, a shutter in advance of the lens, means for supporting a -filmin rear of the lens, a trigger slidably mounted upon the casing,operative connections between the trigger and the shutter, operativeconnections between the trigger and the film-holding means, an armextending rearwardly from the trigger and supported by the easing returnlevers pivotally mounted in the casing below said arm, and means foryield ably holding the upper ends of said levers in engagement with thesaid arm whereby to return the trigger to initial position afteractuation.

Intestimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

WILLIAM E. VAN NESS. FL. s] HUGH T. BRADY. [1,. s] c I DAVID A. BENWAY.I [L.s.]

